1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to therapeutic beds, and more particularly to mounting apparatuses for such beds.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of therapeutic supports for bedridden patients have been well known for many years. For example, such therapeutic supports include but are not limited to low air loss beds, fluidized bead beds, and patient positioning beds that rotate the patient between opposite angular positions. Patient positioning has been used in hospital beds for some time to enhance patient comfort, prevent skin breakdown, improve drainage of bodily fluids, and facilitate breathing. One of the goals of patient positioning has been maximization of ventilation to improve systematic oxygenation. Various studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of body positioning and mobilization on impaired oxygen transport.
One type of prone positioning bed comprises a base frame, a patient support platform rotatably mounted on the base frame for rotational movement about a longitudinal rotational axis of the patient support platform, and a drive system for rotating the patient support platform on the base frame. Such therapeutic beds are described in international patent applications having publication numbers WO 97/22323 and WO 99/62454. This type of bed is particularly advantageous for the treatment of patients with severe respiratory problems. Preferably, as described in publication number WO 99/62454, each end of the bed has a central opening at or near the longitudinal rotational axis of the patient support platform for efficiently managing the numerous patient care lines that are generally necessary for treating a patient on the patient support platform.
In the therapeutic bed of WO 99/62454, the central opening for receiving patient care lines at the head of the bed is provided by a continuous upright end ring, which also serves as a means for rotatably mounting the patient support platform on rollers. One drawback of such an arrangement is that the continuous end ring obstructs access to the head of the patient. Additionally, the initial placement of a patient on the bed requires disconnection of all patient care lines, and to remove a patient care line from the end ring requires that one end of the patient care line be unplugged from either the patient or the piece of equipment to which the line is attached, which can be very inconvenient and may jeopardize the patient, depending on the particular condition of the patient.
In U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 09/821,552 filed Mar. 29, 2001, and Ser. No. 09/884,749 filed Jun. 19, 2001, the first of which is herein incorporated by reference, a prone positioning bed is disclosed that encompasses several distinct innovations. This divisional application is directed to an improved mounting apparatus that facilitates access to the patient and connection and disconnection of patient care lines to and from a patient on the bed.
A therapeutic bed in accordance with the present invention is provided comprising a base frame, a patient support platform rotatably mounted on the base frame for rotational movement about a longitudinal rotational axis of the patient support platform, and a drive system for rotating the patient support platform on the base frame. An upright end ring at the head end of the bed is split into an upper section and a lower section. The upper section is removable from the lower section to allow improved access to the head of the patient and to allow placement or removal of the patient from the bed by removal of patient care lines from the end ring without removing the patient care lines from the patient or the equipment to which the lines are attached. Likewise, at the foot end of the bed, an opening is provided that is of sufficient size to permit passing of various patient connected devices, such as foley bags, through the opening without disconnecting the devices from the patient.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a therapeutic bed having a split end ring at the head of the bed for improved access to the head of a patient lying on the bed and for placement or removal of the patient from the bed without disconnecting patient care lines from the patient.
It is another object of this invention to provide an opening at the foot of the bed having sufficient size to permit passing of patient connected devices, such as foley bags, through the opening without disconnecting the devices from the patient.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the annexed sheets of drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention.